Nautical but nice: Ralph Lauren unveils latest collection in New York

http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2015/sep/18/ralph-lauren-unveils-latest-collection-new-york

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The Ralph Lauren brand – worth £12bn at the last count – is all about the power of dreams and fantasy. So it felt fitting that guests were enveloped in a creamy cocoon at the presentation of the designer’s latest collection at New York fashion week on Thursday.

The venue’s walls, ceiling, carpeted catwalk and cushioned benches were all the colour of ivory and oysters. Audience members seemed polished to a sparkle, from celebrities such as Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin and Jessica Chastain to Lauren’s customers: women with expensive tans, rows of pearls and golden highlighted hair. Swathed in tasteful layers of biscuit and toffee, their clothes matched the decor; this was several shades of beige, but not as Jeremy Corbyn would wear it.

Ralph Lauren has often described his role as a designer as creating “movies with my clothes” or “writing a story” – and there is always an aspirational narrative at play at his shows. This season, that story centred on the sea – specifically, floating on top of it in a beautiful boat.

Thematically, this was no surprise – this was a spring/summer collection and sailing is a key tenet of the sun-drenched side of the American dream (its winter equivalent is skiing in Aspen). But Lauren was not trying to be subtle. The soundtrack included Frank Sinatra’s Beyond the Sea and models wore nautical blazers with shiny gold buttons, white wide-legged sailor’s trousers and captain’s hats at jaunty angles. The styling was pure yacht owner, too: collars were popped and jumpers were tied loosely around models’ necks. Aside from a couple of boiler suits, silhouettes were determinedly classic, as was the staging: the show began with polished daytime looks before graduating to flowing gowns.

There was an awful lot to covet, particularly a flowing navy and cream strapless dress worn by Lineisy Montero – the model of the season so far in New York – which felt loose, unstructured and modern. Lauren’s customers could be seen taking Montblanc pens from their Hermès Birkin handbags and making a note of the looks they would later be buying.

Related: New York fashion week: notes from the frow

Still, it was Lauren’s own appearance at the end of the show that caused the most delight. The diminutive fashion giant – who stands at 5ft 6in in his cowboy boots – did a lap of honour of the catwalk, wearing a nautical blazer and stonewashed jeans, embracing family members and Hollywood stars in the front row, and waved at those in the back with a beaming smile.

Of all the narratives presented by his brand since its inception in 1967 – those cinematic advertisements featuring country clubs, cricket whites, polo mallets and safari gear – Lauren’s own is the most compelling. Raised as Ralph Lifshitz in a rough area of the Bronx, he is the epitome of the self-made man. His first fashion venture was selling ties; now he is personally worth $6.3bn. He has become his own brand, his cars and houses and even his family, picture perfect and powerful. His wife, Ricky, has appeared in recent advertising campaigns; his son David is married to Lauren Bush. Initially, the upper-crust aesthetic he created as a designer was born of fantasy, not reality. Now, through selling dreams to others, his own have long come true.